Phew! Feds halt illegal immigration in unexpected place

Justice Department goes bonkers in mind-boggling spot

The Department of Homeland Security orchestrated several raids on Chinese restaurants in State College, Pa., on June 12, 2014./Photo: Centre Daily Times

Despite the ongoing flood of illegal aliens pouring across the Mexican border and the alarming increase in the importation of Muslim refugees into the U.S., the Department of Homeland Security and the Justice Department are focusing illegal immigration enforcement efforts on Asian restaurants in State College, Pennsylvania, the home of Penn State University.

On the very same day a Kuwaiti-born, naturalized U.S. citizen killed four U.S. Marines and critically injured a Navy sailor, who later died of his wounds, the Justice Department issued a press release describing federal immigration charges against the proprietors of several Chinese restaurants in the sleepy little college town.

The Justice Department is now prosecuting eight restaurant owners and managers, who face federal charges in an alleged conspiracy to transport, harbor and conceal 18 illegal immigrants for “commercial advantage and private financial gain,” according to the news release.

Business owner Bill Ebken, who owns a frame shop in the same strip mall as some of the restaurants, told the Centre Daily Times there were at least 25 law-enforcement agents involved in the raids.

"We have friends who travel the world and said My Thai has some of the best food," said Ebken. "They all seem to do really good business and get a lot of the Asian college students who hang there."

Jing Mei “Jimmy” Jiang, 51, of Boalsburg, was identified in the release as the "ring leader" of the conspiracy. Jiang and his codefendants — all members of what prosecutors dubbed the “Jiang organization” — are charged with defrauding the United States and Pennsylvania by under-reporting employees in audit and tax documents and making false financial records for quarterly employee wages.

If convicted, Jiang could receive up to 10 years in prison under federal law for harboring and concealing illegal immigrants, 20 more years for wire fraud and fines totaling $500,000.

Court documents state the defendants hired at least 18 illegal aliens – who hail from Mexico, Guatemala, Thailand and China – since 2013 and transported them by commercial buses, vans and other vehicles to State College, where they would work and be housed. Prosecutors contend the scheme began in 2005, but the total number of aliens is not revealed in court documents. The illegal workers were reportedly recruited through employment agencies in the Chinatown area of New York City.

Jiang's alleged co-conspirators face a maximum penalty of five years in prison for their role in the alleged scheme. However, federal prosecutors have agreed to recommend lower sentences for the defendants if they "cooperate with and assist the federal government," according the newspaper.

The restaurant owners and managers separately charged in the investigation are:

Jing Mei Jiang 51, Boalsburg

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Yu Mei Chen, 50, Boalsburg

Xin Xing Jiang, 27, Boalsburg

Yan Jin Jiang, 30, Boalsburg

Xue Jiang, 36, State College

Jian Bin Chen, 39, State College

Yong Cheng Chen, 38, State College

Huan Zhen Dong, 37, State College

The government is seeking forfeiture of two single-family homes in State College, two furnished apartments and some $65,000 in cash seized from one home and a restaurant, according to court documents.

All of those charged already have tentative agreements to plead guilty in U.S. Middle District Court, according to PennLive.